Romeo and Juliet / G.C.S.E Assignment.

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Introduction

Tuesday 30th September 2003 Romeo and Juliet / G.C.S.E Assignment Romeo and Juliet is a love story which has a fatal ending. It is a story of two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, who are two of Verona's noble families. The families quarrelled years ago and the feud has been carried on by the younger generations. Two youths, one from each family, fall in love and they die in the end, which ends the families' long-winding feud. This assignment is based on Act 3 Scene 5, which is a very significant part in the play as it is the last time Romeo and Juliet see each other alive. This scene starts with Romeo and Juliet alone together in Juliet's bedroom the day after their wedding and they had spent the night together. Juliet is urging Romeo not to leave for his banishment, as it is not yet dawn. Romeo then tells her he'd rather die than leave her. 'Let me be ta'en, let me be put to death' This shows his true devotion to Juliet. But then Juliet suddenly changes her mind and tells him to leave. Obviously this talk of death scares her. Juliet's voice would probably sound panicked and frightened as she is having these mixed emotions because she is so anxious for him to leave, but is aching for him to stay. These emotions may also be reflected on the audience. It may even have different meanings for them as some may have experienced these sorts of feelings before, so they might have a more sympathetic view for Juliet. ...read more.

Middle

They were meant to obey their parents' decisions with no questions asked. This makes me feel sympathetic towards Juliet because it shows that there isn't a true bond between Juliet and her mother because in modern day society a daughter would usually confide in her mother and in this play Juliet confides in the Nurse. I think it would make the audience feel the same way because Juliet and Lady Capulet didn't have the mother/daughter relationships that we have today and that is something that has great importance in our lives. After Juliet has gone on with the pretence of being upset about Tybalt, Lady Capulet tries to cheer her up by informing her of her father's decision to arrange her marriage to Paris. This is a very significant part of the play because if Lady Capulet had never told her about this arrangement of marriage to Paris then Juliet might not of had to take immediate action and tragedy might never have happened. This news obviously comes as a huge shock to Juliet and she expresses her feelings in an uncontrollable outburst. She obviously couldn't help herself. 'He shall not make me there a joyful bride' This part of the scene gives the audience an understanding that in their society there were arranged marriages. The parents would arrange for their children to be married into another family that was as wealthy as theirs. They didn't marry for love and would never marry into poverty or into a family that has a lower status than them because they thought that if two wealthy families were joined by their children's marriage then that makes them even more powerful. ...read more.

Conclusion

So later in the play she goes to him for help and events after this lead to her and Romeo's death. This also tells you that it was a religious society because Juliet goes to Friar Lawrence for her confessions. So as you can see, this scene is a very eventful part of the play and Shakespeare has staged it perfectly. His use of language is superb, such as when Lord Capulet is telling Juliet that she either has to marry Paris or leave. The words gave me an idea of Lord Capulet's tone of voice being loud and angry when he used words like 'hang!', 'Beg!' and 'Starve!'. He used exclamation marks, which gives me an idea of him shouting. H also stages their body language very effectively such as when gives stage directions that 'Romeo and Juliet stand at the window'. This gives me an idea of them standing next to each other looking out of the window in a daze enjoying their time together. Even if I was just reading this play I could imagine all of the characters expressions and feelings. This is how Shakespeare makes you aware that it is not just a words on a page, but a piece of theatre also. I personally have enjoyed reading and writing about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It gives me a good understanding of how society was and how it made people feel in those days compared to what it is like now in modern day society. I thought the best part of the scene was Romeo's exit. It made me feel really sad because Romeo and Juliet really want to be together, but can't because of their forbidden love. ...read more.

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